It's that time of year when every news outlet gets all retrospective with an avalanche of reviews of the past 12 months.
To safely slalom through this year's reviews, why not start with Decca Aitkenhead's Weekend magazine piece: Barack Obama's triumph, the rise of oil prices, the fall of Bradford and Bingley, China's earthquake pain and Olympic joy – it's all there.
(Aitkenhead herself produced one of the biggest British political stories of 2008 when the chancellor, Alistair Darling, became gloriously frank in an interview with her.)
The Guardian's traditionally generous review offering is this year more accessible than ever. Linda Nylind's narration of her best pictures of 2008 is tremendous fun and gives an intriguing insight into many photoshoots. Before moving on you could check out the Guardian's quizzes of 2008.
Time magazine, meanwhile, concentrates on the people of 2008. Though Barack Obama is an obvious choice for Person of the Year, the People Who Mattered category throws up some curious names, such as the freed hostage Ingrid Betancourt and anti-child trafficking crusader Somaly Mam.
Time's Pictures of the Year category leads us to other great photos of 2008. Reuters selects 135 harrowing, quirky and uplifting images. The Sydney Morning Herald does similarly.
The Telegraph's pictures of the year come with this 'how do you do that?' image.
Meanwhile, the Guardian's sport pictures of the year gallery includes Dan Chung's scintillating photo of Usain Bolt's record-smashing finish in the Olympic 200m final.
Sport.co.uk puts Bolt's 100m stunner top of its sporting moments to remember.
Sky Sports reckons Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear's infamous first press conference was among the footballing moments of 2008.
On the stage, the Guardian's theatre critic Michael Billington was astonished by the complaints that greeted David Hare's Gethsemane, his play of the year, "which dealt engrossingly with political funding and the triumph of pragmatism".
The gripping, airtight portrayal of abortion in the Romanian-set 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days topped Empire magazine's 50 films of the year.
Elsewhere, sombre economic times call for some sober reflection. Financial crisis, food crisis, climate change – these are just some of the categories for the World Bank's review of 2008.
In his 2008 review, Lionel Barber of the Financial Times writes that for a few nerve-wracking days and nights "the world appeared to be hurtling toward financial Armageddon".
Far less serious is the Telegraph's weird news of the year, which is a bit self-congratulatory but offers the chance to remember the flying penguin story. And if you're sick of 2008 then G2 rides to the rescue with its essential guide to 2009.
